Late Season Bud Burst on Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea - November 2024

Posted by on

Just when everything was going dormant, dropping their foliage and going to bed for the season, I'm seeing a couple of anomalies.  First, was that Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea bloom last week.  Everything else is in decline...but one stem and small pink bloom.  Today, I'm posting a photo of something else:  the Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea in our backyard.  This is planted in the 'kitchen curved' bed on the southside, right near the Butterscotch Amsonia.  

This is one of two of these shrubs that have a Japanese-garden-inspired look to their fern-like foliage.  The other one is in the front porch bed.  These never did SUPER great this year after being planted in November of 2023.    I noticed that these had set some buds this Fall and assumed they went dormant.  

But...we haven't had a hard frost...yet.  Normally it arrives in/around mid-October.  But, this year...everything is winding down very slowly.

The Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea, however...had a different idea.  It is confused and we're seeing the buds burst on this thing RIGHT NOW - in November.  See below for a look at the current state of this shrub:

These little buds are opening up.  Right when they're supposed to be winding down.

Is this a result of late-Summer drought stress?  Like...could this be the second 'growth' of the season and it took the cooler temps of the Fall (and some rain) to get this thing back to being on offense?  

I'm not sure.  But...I'll be watching this shrub in Spring to see if it comes back after this confusing Fall - and likely....tough Winter. 

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Be nice to each other here.

Popular posts from this blog

Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe as Published in the 60's

Posted by on
Image
Earlier this winter, I wrote about the old Lou Malnati's menu and mentioned that as I was waiting around for my pie to finish up, I spied an old Chicago Tribune article posted on the wall that included the original Lou Malnati's Italian Salad Dressing Recipe.  The Tribune reporter called it "prized".  We were set to host a little pizza party over the weekend, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Here's the article as seen through my mobile phone's camera. I'm not a wine drinker, so the fact that the recipe called for Burgundy wine didn't strike me as odd.  I went shopping at Angelo Caputos in Addison - a really incredible shopping experience - and when I got to the wine section I found Burgundy wine was carried ONLY in those HUGE jugs.  And they were dirt cheap.  The only issue is that needed just 4 ounces.  We ended up with a whole-lotta-wine that Nat won't drink. I've taken the recipe and modified it a bit by eliminating the percentage...
Read more

Tom Thayer's Italian Beef Recipe

Posted by on
Image
TOM’S TAILGATER ITALIAN BEEF COURTESY OF Steve Dahl  and  DAHL.COM Ingredients: One 3 ½ to 4 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast One package of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix One 16 oz. jar of hot giardiniera One 16 oz. jar of mild giardiniera One dozen baguettes (French rolls) Directions: In a four-quart Crock-Pot, pour in one bottle of giardiniera. Place the roast on top of the layer of giardiniera. Sprinkle the salad dressing mixture on top of the roast. Add the second bottle of giardiniera to the top of the roast. Cover Crock-Pot and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. When fork tender, shred the roast in the Crock-Pot and allow it to combine with the other ingredients. Slice the baguettes in half and pile on the beef and giardiniera mixture. ------------------------------------ For the babe's baptism party, we hosted a collection of family and friends back at our house after the church proceedings. We ordered some of t...
Read more

Overwintering Disneyland Roses With Leaf Mulch - Floribunda Roses - December 2024

Posted by on
Image
Yesterday, I posted photos of how I'm attempting to overwinter some Dahlia tubers in the ground and in a couple of those pics, you might have peeked at the chicken wire cages next to the piles of mulch on the dahlia tubers.  Those chicken wire cages are full of fallen leaves and are set on top of the three Disneyland Rose crowns along the southside of our house. See below for a couple of photos showing how I set up the ring of chicken wire and filled it with mulched-up leaves: These roses struggled this year, so here's hoping this little bit of extra Winter protection is going to help them get through the cold.
Read more